1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an improvement in women's hosiery, and in particular, to improved women's sheer stockings and a support system for increased extended wear comfort and economical manufacture. The invention is comprised of individual spandex fiber, nylon or nylon-like fabric stockings, of crotch length, each individually affixed at a single side point in the hip area to a garter belt for stocking support to allow for extended wear comfort, while covering the leg areas, full length, up to the crotch and hip.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of sheer stockings by women, such as "nylons," has been well known for many years. Nylon itself is any of a family of high strength, resilient, synthetic materials, the long chain molecules of which contain a recurring amide group CONH. Cloth or thread can be described as nylon and it has various degrees of sheerness. At the present time, women's stockings can be made of nylon or a similar synthetic fabric and still be called nylons. Spandex fiber is very suitable for women's stockings.
For many years, women's sheer stockings have been supported by garter belts. The primary drawback of garter belts are that they include a plurality of rigid fasteners that could contact the leg and be uncomfortable to the wearer. Also, as dress lengths changed, the upper portions of hosiery, top bands could be unsightly, along with the garter belt fasteners. To eliminate these problems, pantyhose were created which use nylon or nylon-like fabrics with the leg stockings being combined with a panty in a unitary construction, eliminating the use of a garter belt to provide the support for the stockings. However, pantyhose can also be uncomfortable for the wearer, especially if worn over an extended period of time. One of the advantages of pantyhose, however, was that as fashion changes and lengths of women's dresses changes, the stocking lengths went all the way up to the panty area and were therefore not visually unattractive.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,027,441, ladies' stockings are shown with a support connected to the front, while the stockings are somewhat obliquely cut (at the opening) from the central axis so that each stocking is longer in the front than in the back. These stockings are expensive to manufacture. Also, they do not provide the proper dimensional length for support with all types of dress lengths and therefore suffer from the same problems as previous garter belt support systems. Also, when the wearer sits, the hose tend to pull down at the back of the leg, causing discomfort upon walking. U.S. Pat. No. 3,529,329, issued to Burleson on Sep. 22, 1970, shows a fastener that is used to connect ladies' hosiery to girdles or other forms of support garments. U.S. Pat. No. 4,424,596, issued to Jackson on Jan. 10, 1984, shows a therapeutic stocking structure with a belt structure that connects along the sides of stockings. U.S. Pat. No. 3,501,774, issued to Norman on Mar. 24, 1970, shows a combination of a girdle and garter connection to use for hosiery supports. U.S. Pat. No. 3,625,029, issued to Safrit et al. on Dec. 7, 1971, includes a discussion and use of a "elastic yarn," which means any yarn having an inherent capacity to elongate under tension and having an inherent tendency to contract from an elongated condition with a degree of power in contraction. Such yarns include rubber and spandex yarns, both bare and covered. U.S. Pat. No. 3,469,583 issued to Gottlieb on Sep. 30, 1969, shows a combination girdle/stocking that has a plurality of fasteners using either hooks or buttons for supporting the hose. U.S. Pat. No. 3,487,473, issued to Jahnsen on Jan. 6, 1970, shows a combination of hose and a panty garment that has fasteners wherein the hose are sufficient length to be pulled over the wearer's hips. U.S. Pat. No. 3,566,411 issued to Gordon on Mar. 2, 1971, again shows a combination of pantyhose and hose construction for connecting the hose to the panty garment using a plurality of fasteners. U.S. Pat. No. 3,516,266 shows a circular knit stocking with integral garter loops that are connected along the top of the stocking for attachment to a garter belt and fastener around its edges. U.S. Pat. No. 3,362,029 issued to Comerma on Jan. 9, 1968, shows ladies' seamless sheer stockings which are adapted to completely cover the legs of the wearer and include a support device on the upper ends for encircling the lower trunk portion of the body. U.S. Pat. No. 3,440,665 issued to Russell on Apr. 29, 1969, shows women's hosiery composed of a pair of hip high stockings with front and rear hook members for supporting the stockings.
A review of the prior art shows that, the fasteners and fastener locations when using a garter belt structure, still create discomfort, especially for an extended time period wear of the hosiery.
The primary purpose of the present invention is to overcome these problems, especially with either a garter belt or pantyhose, that cause extended wear discomfort without increasing manufacturing costs. In the present invention, two separate hosiery legs are permanently affixed to a garter belt at a single point on each side in the hip area for support, while utilizing elongated hosiery. Each extends all the way up the legs on the inside to the crotch area with a normal opening cut. The stockings may be manufactured with two different yarns, either all nylon or a nylon and spandex combination which allows for stretch with memory. One of the primary advantages of the present invention by having a single affixing point on each side of the garter belt at the hip area is that it allows the body freedom from tight clothing, the elimination of stress points, allowing the body to move while the hosiery stays in place. Sitting or kneeling stretches regular hose to 20% to 40% from the waist to the back of the knee, resulting in sagging, yet pinching toes. With the present invention, there is no fabric across the body torso so that each hose can stay in place. From an economical standpoint, the extra material used in pantyhose is eliminated while if a run develops in one of the stockings, you need only change one hose. The actual hose can be constructed and look completely normal as long stockings with a normal looking top that is not cut at an extreme, oblique angle relative to the central axis of the stocking. This allows for standard machinery for manufacturing the hose without additional sewing at the top of the garment. For example, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,027,441 issued to Wilson on Jul. 2, 1991, the tops of the stockings are triangularly shaped and obliquely cut relative to the central longitudinal axis of the hose, again requiring additional expense and custom machinery.
The present invention envisions fabric of denier 10-70, preferably 10-20, with the stretchability of nylon or nylon and spandex material, sized in length to reach the crotch of the wearer while sufficiently stretchable on the outside (hip side) for stretchable support by a single affixing point on each side near the hip area. Each stocking has a normal cut at the top opening and is affixed to the outside, hip area of each side of the belt by conventional stitching. Thus, the problems presented in prior ladies' stockings and hosiery support with fasteners that are positioned at different locations around each leg which are either unsightly with short dresses and provide pressure discomfort are eliminated. Since the stockings stretch all the way up the leg, the length of the woman's dress does not provide for unsightly situations even though a garter-like belt, with only one point of connection on each hip, is being used.